1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to an electrical connector having locks for ensuring a reliable connection between the connector and a complementary connector.
2. Description of Related Art
As is well known, SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) connectors provide a standard interface between computers and internal/external SCSI peripheral devices, such as fixed and removable storage drives, scanners, compact discs, etc. Generally, an electrical connection is established between a computer and an internal/external SCSI peripheral device via a SCSI ribbon cable. One end of the SCSI ribbon cable is directly connected with the internal/external SCSI device, and another end of the SCSI ribbon cable is assembled with an IDC (Insulation Displacement Contact) SCSI 3 plug connector to be plugged into a complementary SCSI 3 receptacle connector, which is mounted on a circuit board of the computer. However, due to inevitable vibration and shock, the connection between the IDC plug connector and the complementary receptacle connector is relatively to loose. As a result, signal transmission between the computer and the internal/external SCSI device may be adversely affected.
Hence, the present invention aims to provide an electrical connector having locks to ensure a reliable connection between the connector and a complementary connector.
Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector having locks for ensuring a reliable connection between the connector and a complementary connector.
A second object of the present invention is to provide a lock pivotally mounted on an electrical connector and having a spring portion forcing the lock to reliably latch with a complementary connector.
In order to achieve the objects set forth, an electrical connector having locks in accordance with the present invention comprises an insulative housing with a plurality of terminals retained therein, and a pair of locks pivotally mounted on opposite ends of the housing. Each lock includes a body portion, a handle at one end of the body portion for manually pivoting the lock, a latch at an opposite end of the body portion for latchably engaging with a complementary connector and a spring portion between the handle and the latch. The spring portion can always force the latch to approaching the housing to latchably engage with the complementary connector, thereby ensuring a reliable connection between the connector and a complementary connector.